BBC Voices Recordings: Hartlepool, County Durham

BBC VOICES RECORDINGS http://sounds.bl.uk

Title:

Shelfmark:

C1190/09/04

Recording date:

25.12.2004

Speakers: Clark, Terence, b. 1939 Hartlepool; male Farrow, Bob, b. 1940 Hartlepool; male Farrow, Roni, b. 1942 Hartlepool; female Simpson, Rose, b. 1931 Bristol; female Thompson, Eileen, b. 1954 Bedlington, Northumberland; female

The interviewees are all members of the Belle Vue Sports and Youth Centre Residents’ Association.

PLEASE NOTE: this recording is still awaiting full linguistic description (i.e. phonological, grammatical and spontaneous lexical items).

A summary of the specific lexis elicited by the interviewer is given below.

ELICITED LEXIS

○ see English Dialect Dictionary (1898-1905) * see Survey of English Dialects Basic Material (1962-1971) † see Dictionary of the Scots Language (online edition)

► see Romani Rokkeripen To-Divvus (1984) ∆ see New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English (2006) ◊ see Green’s Dictionary of Slang (2010) ⌂ no previous source (with this sense) identified pleased chuffed; glad; over the moon tired knackered; wore out (used in Bristol) unwell bad; unwell; out of sorts (used in Bristol) hot boiling; hot cold bitter; cold annoyed angry; in a bad temper throw toss

http://sounds.bl.uk Page 1 of 3 BBC Voices Recordings play truant playing the nick1; nick off school∆; nick off∆; hookey (used in Midlands); bunk off, bunking off (used in Bedlington in past) sleep sleep play a game play (“I’m going for a game of footy”) hit hard slam; smash it clothes clothes trousers trousers child’s shoe plimsolls (used in past); trainers (used now); sand-shoes; sandies†; gym shoes (used as child in Northumberland, also heard when living in Staffordshire); jimmies∆ (thought to be used locally) mother mam gmother gran; grandma (used by own grandchildren of self, “grandma Jean” used by own children of grandfather’s second wife); nana m partner hubby; husband friend buddy; best mate; pal; mate; friend gfather grand-da○ (“grand-da over the road ... big grand-da/grand-da Abie” used by own children to distinguish between paternal/maternal grandfather); grandad; pop (used by own children of great-grandfather); grandfather forgot name thingy; what-they-may-call-y⌂ [wɒtðəməkɔːli]; thingmebob◊; what’s-her-name; what’s-his- name kit of tools gear trendy poser; townies (suggested by interviewer as used in Middlesbrough, heard used); chaw◊ (common locally) f partner “best friend” (“if I was after summat”∆); our lass (of wife to friends); wife baby baby; bairn; babbies○ rain heavily pour down; pissing down toilet lav; toilet; netty walkway alley; aisle [haɛl] long seat sofa run water stream; beck main room front room; lounge (used by father) rain lightly spit; drizzle rich rich left-handed cuddy-wifter* [kʊdiwɪfɛ] (also used by parents); lefties unattractive ugly lack money skint; broke; short; I’ve got nothing drunk sloshed; plonkie◊; blotto; plastered pregnant expecting; preggies∆; up the stick (disliked); Pat and Mick⌂2 (“Cockney”); in the family way; pregnant; up the duff (heard used in Hartlepool); “been eating new bread”⌂ (thought to mean pregnant woman is “swelling up”) attractive bonny; pretty insane mad; nuts

1 Iona & Peter Opie’s The Lore and Language of Schoolchildren (1959 p.372) records ‘playing the nick’ in this sense. 2 New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English (2006) includes ‘Pat and Mick’ as rhyming slang for ‘sick’ but not for ‘up the stick’, i.e. ‘pregnant’.

http://sounds.bl.uk Page 2 of 3 BBC Voices Recordings moody moody; a grouch; got a face on◊ (“got a mui►3 on you”)

3 Romani Rokkeripen To-Divvus (1984) includes ‘mui’ for ‘mouth, face’.

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